Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Q:
Is eating non-vegetarian food, a sin?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Eating non-vegetarian food is not satvic. So that which is not satvic does not give you happiness or does not give you knowledge and enlightenment. Further progress in the spiritual journey will be at stake by eating non-vegetarian diet.Q:
Can love be selfish and, if it is selfish then is it love?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
The Self is love.Q:
Why is the truth tested every time?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Because lies cannot withstand a test. One who has not studied will not go for the exam. One who has prepared for IAS will go to take the exam. When you have the confidence that you will pass, you will succeed, then you will be ready to take the test. That which emerges successful after going through the tests and trials is the truth.Q:
Is eating vegetarian food said to have better karma than eating meat? I’ve also heard that all things have consciousness. What should we do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
There are several angles to it. Karma means the latent impression in a substance and how your body matches.Suppose a lion hunts a deer and eats the deer, the lion does not get the karma. A cat eats a mouse, the cat does not get the karma of the mouse. All these animals are designed to prey and eat. However, if you see the human physiology, it is more akin to herbivores. There is a substance called ptyalin in our saliva which is present only in the cow, elephant, horse, goat – in all the herbivorous animals. This indicates that that the human saliva is made for herbivorous animals.
Secondly, the human intestine is so long – six feet. This is not present in lion, tiger or dog but it is present in all herbivores. Human beings don’t have canine teeth. All herbivorous animals don’t have canine teeth. Only the carnivorous animals do.
If you look at these aspects, physiologically our system is more akin to vegetarianism. So in that sense, we say, when you eat a vegetarian diet, you don’t get the karma of it. If you eat anything that is not aligning with your body – like if an elephant eats an egg or if you feed a cow with meat, then the cow will get the karma.
What is karma? Karma is the impression which is against the nature that can produce some change in the consciousness. It can be harmful to the consciousness.
Similarly, when we are exposed to radiation, which we are not supposed to, we get diseases. That means, we acquire those karma. Karma means the strongest impressions on the nervous system which is not all the time necessarily desirable.
If you have drugs, you have drug karma and the karma of the drug on the nervous system is so huge that after sometime, you can’t stop the drug. Then your body craves for it. Your body distorts. You go through so much of pain and suffering. It needs lot of de-programming to come out of drug addiction. It is the same for alcohol.
Food is not that strong. Yet our system is made for herbivorous, especially, if you want to go to a more subtle level in your mind and in your consciousness.
All top scientists, many achievers are vegetarians. It naturally happens. Your system wants only that. That means they are in tune with nature. That’s all. It’s not that those who are not vegetarian are not good. No, they are as good as you are. But their consciousness is much better if they tune themselves to nature.
Someone from the audience: We’re organizing a peace march in a high school. Will you come?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:i>: I’ll be there in spirit. The spirit is much bigger. Body is small. The body is like a tiny stone, tied to a huge balloon.
Q:
How to make this life blossom?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Life blossoms in rest. Two things are important in life- when we are in Nivriti (meditation), we have to see everything as ok and believe that it is all being done by God and He is watching over. When we do this, strength, wisdom and devotion increase and then Pravritti (action) comes up automatically.When we come to Pravritti and see fault in everything, then we can correct it but if the fault-finding tendency stays forever then we get frustrated. Thus we need a balance of both - ‘It is ok’ and ‘It is not ok’. We should also have the strength to correct what is not ok.
Pravitti is knowing that if it is not correct, we can and will correct it. The belief that everything is ok, will be ok in the future and ‘I am ok the way I am’ is Nivriti.
When Pravitti and Nivriti are balanced, then life blossoms naturally.
Q:
How does one know exactly what one wants? Is it so confusing to know what one wants?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
This question is very confusing. If we have some clarity in the question, then the answer will be clear. Answers to unclear questions create more confusion.Q:
Are there any plus points of doing a job other than earning money
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Money and experience. That’s all and some discipline. If you have to do a job you have to discipline your life in a certain fashion.Q:
How to develop mastery over hunger and sleep?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Rise above them naturally; not by force. Hunger and sleep are the dharma of the body. Don’t enforce limitations upon yourself. Integrate knowledge into your life. Study the Bhagvad Gita.Q:
Can you please talk about farmer suicide and genetically transformed food?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Farmer suicide is a very big problem in developing countries. Some of the companies, which are producing genetically transformed food are buying original seeds from poor farmers and burning them. Some people out of greed join in hands with them. What is most needed today is educating the illiterate farmers. Art of Living has worked in 520 villages where farmers are given proper education. Now all these villages where volunteers have worked, and educated people, suicide has completely stopped. But there is still a lot more to be done. We need to work a lot more.Q:
Sometimes I find many vikaras (flaws) in myself and think that I don't deserve to be on the path. What can I do?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Get rid of guilt. Till now you were suffering from guilt and weren’t even aware of it. Now that you are aware you can’t bear it. This makes you a seeker. So many have dropped their vikaras. Keep doing satsang, seva and get into the depths of meditation - it will rid you of the vikaras and the old impressions will be washed. If you were completely hopeless you wouldn’t even have got a chance to come here, on the path of satsang. You have done something good - direct your vision to the good as well.
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Founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,The Art of Living is an educational and humanitarian movement engaged in stress-management and service initiatives.
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